Trump should demand release of Chinese political prisoners as precondition to Xi’s US visit
Center Right
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is slated to come to the United States in September to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House. Trump extended the invitation after meeting with Xi in Beijing: apparently, both leaders believe the previous meeting was successful enough to merit continued discussion. While media attention is often high during […]
President Donald Trump proclaimed on Truth Social on Thursday morning that not only would the United States engage in new offensives against Iran, they are gearing up for an invasion of the country and a seizure of its oil industry."The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT," wrote Trump. Furthermore, he added, "At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America."As of now, Trump's claims about the takeover of Venezuelan oil "working out brilliantly" are unverifiable, because there has been next to no transparency about how that money is being spent.Kharg Island is a major hub for Iran's oil infrastructure, and U.S. forces have attacked it in the past — though experts are highly skeptical that a full invasion and seizure of the island would be defensible.This comes shortly after Trump boasted that he had secretly secured the passage of 100 million barrels of oil through the still-blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a claim analysts say is impossible.
Iran and the United States have riddled their fragile ceasefire with missiles in the 14th week of the war.President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter downed while patrolling the Strait of Hormuz on Monday had been shot down by Iranian forces. While the uninjured pilots were rescued, the president stressed that "the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack."'US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.'Hours later, U.S. Central Command announced that it had begun launching "self-defense strikes," which it characterized as a "proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression."Early Wednesday, Trump noted on Truth Social that "they’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"The president clarified later in the day that more American strikes were forthcoming."We hit them hard yesterday. We're going to hit them again hard today, in case you miss it, in case you don’t turn on your television set, and we’ll see what happens with the deal," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.On Wednesday evening, CENTCOM launched another series of "self-defense" strikes, stating afterward that it had targeted "Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran."RELATED: US Apache helicopter crashes near Strait of Hormuz on 100th day of Iran war; Trump says end in sight Ford Williams/U.S. Navy/Getty ImagesIranian media claimed, however, that among the structures damaged in the American strikes was a pair of water tanks in the south of the country with a combined capacity of 2.5 million liters — tanks said to have supplied water to tens of thousands of civilians. When asked by the New York Times about reports of damage to water facilities, CENTCOM declined to comment."U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters," CENTCOM said in a statement. "The strikes are in response to Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression. U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready."According to Trey Yingst, an Israel-based Fox News reporter, Trump said that the U.S. fired at least 49 Tomahawk missiles into Iran and executed bombings via fighter jets, hitting targets as close as 40 miles outside Tehran. Trump also reportedly said that if the Iranians don't sign the peace agreement, "we'll bomb the s**t out of them."Iranian state media reported on Thursday that in retaliation for the American strikes, "18 important targets belonging to the U.S. military in the region were successfully hit during two operational waves following the recent aggression against Iranian territorial integrity."The Iranians maintain that their attacks constitute self-defense "as recognized under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations."According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the targets were located "at the Al-Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber air bases, as well as the Sheikh Isa air base."Citing an unnamed military official, Jordanian state media reported that 20 missiles had been intercepted and neutralized by the country's air defense systems, adding there had been no human casualties or material damage.Iranian drones and "hostile aerial targets" were reportedly intercepted over Bahrain and Kuwait.While Iranian media also claimed that the Strait of Hormuz had been completely closed in response to the American strikes, CENTCOM stated on Wednesday evening that "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz."Trump emphasized on Wednesday that "the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
President Trump said the U.S. will hit Iran with new strikes Thursday and threatened to seize Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub. Why it matters: This will be the third consecutive night the U.S. military strikes Iran. U.S. officials say the goal is to push Iran to show more flexibility in the negotiations over its nuclear program. What he is saying: "The United States will be hitting Iran VERY HARD TONIGHT," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. He added that "at some point in the not too distant future" the U.S. will take over Kharg Island, and other oil facilities in the country "and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets" like it did it Venezuela. Screenshot / Truth Social
President Donald Trump said the US would strike Iran again Thursday and threatened to take control of the country’s energy infrastructure including the key oil export hub of Kharg Island “at some point.”
This fall's midterm election is a referendum on President Donald Trump, according to a veteran journalist, and he's not making things easy for Republicans trying to hold onto their congressional majorities.Polling has made clear that affordability remains the top voter concern, and Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan told "CNN News Central" that Republicans on Capitol Hill, whom he's covered for decades, were aghast when Trump declared "I love inflation" during an Oval Office event."Oh yeah, Trump is the issue of the election," Bresnahan said. "I mean, he is the biggest issue. His conduct, the war, his handling the economy, his conduct in office. I've got to tell you, I was on the Hill yesterday when he made those comments and they went through the Capitol pretty quickly, and it was just, you know, every Republican just winced. They're upset."Trump was re-elected to a second term on a promise to fix the economy on Day One, but a year and a half later, voters have soured on his handling of the affordability crisis."The messaging they're hearing out of the White House is not about inflation," the well-connected reporter said. "It's not about the economy. It's not about Americans' financial status, their overdue credit card payments. They're struggling to pay for school, and every day that Trump is out talking about Iran, he's talking talking about other issues, he's talking about the 2020 elections is a disaster for Hill Republicans. They're just – it's a big problem for them.""Speaker Mike Johnson can talk, you know, say Trump's labors are focused on inflation, but the American public doesn't think so, Congress doesn't think so – even the Republicans in Congress, I'll tell you that," Bresnhan added. "So this is a big problem for them." - YouTube youtu.be
An international crime expert was floored by President Donald Trump's "quantum" trail of slush funds that he's set up during his second administration. Jonathan Winer, a former State Department official who investigated international money laundering cases, said during a new episode of the "Court of History" podcast on Wednesday that Trump's slush funds appear quantum in nature because "you never know where [they're] going to end." He referred to the $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund," the U.S.-controlled fund in Qatar established to hold money from Venezuelan oil sales, the so-called Board of Peace, and the America 250 celebration, which is being organized with private donations, and Trump's ballroom. On top of all that, Winer noted that Trump's Department of Justice just gave him immunity from tax cases as part of a settlement over a 2019 case involving the president's leaked tax returns. That settlement has been valued at roughly $100 million, according to public reports."It's really quite remarkable," Winer said. Winer added that there are instances in which Trump used existing federal structures to create slush funds, even those not designed to operate that way. The silver lining, according to Winer, is that there are documentable ways to find out what Trump has been up to. For instance, there will be shipping logs and bank records that correspond with the oil sales. There will also be ways for a future Congress to trace donations to the Board of Peace and other entities controlled by Trump, Winer said. The problem future lawmakers may face is enforcing the laws against Trump if he can prove the money was connected to official activity, Winer added. "Congress has absolute right to investigate it, but the problem is enforcement," he said. "There's no penalty at this point. There's no such thing as contempt of Congress for the president and, on this, no one can go after him criminally if he stole all the money in connection with official activity. So it's essentially impeachment and removal for him."
For weeks now, Democrats have been trying to convince Americans that President Donald Trump is somehow faking being a fan of the New York Knicks -- simply because of the team's run in the NBA playoffs.
The post Watch: NBA Commissioner Makes Hakeem Jeffries Look Silly for Knicks Cheap Shot on Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
Based upon his own reporting and excerpts from a bombshell new book penned by the New York Times ' Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, MS NOW host Jonathan Lemire claimed on Thursday morning that Donald Trump has become a man alone inside his own White House.Noting that Vice President JD Vance and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles retreated to the Situation Room with the rest of the Trump inner circle — with the president left on the outside — Lemire pointed out that it is nearly impossible to deliver bad news to the increasingly embattled president.Lemire cited Trump’s blurting “I love the inflation” before reporters on Wednesday as evidence that the president has lost touch with even his own people, who would have made sure he was better prepared when questioned by reporters.“I wrote a few months ago about the bubble he's in,” Lemire told the “Morning Joe” panel. “All presidents exist in some sort of bubble, but this one in particular, it's an echo chamber. He only talks to people who agree with him. He does no domestic travel anymore. None. And to [conservative journalist] David Drucker’s point, that is where he would go out on the road. He'd go to these rallies, he'd see what lines would work or what not. And that would give him a sense as to what the American people, or at least his voters cared about.”“That stopped. Instead, he's being fed AI slop on Truth Social,” he observed. “That's the only feedback he's getting from, quote, real people. And he is completely out of touch. I mean, yesterday him blurting out, ‘I love the inflation.’ It's like Brick and ‘Anchorman ‘ yelling, ‘I love lamps’ because he didn't know what else to say. I mean, it was just it was that nonsensical. And it will be featured in every possible campaign ad this fall.”“I think the point here is, right, that it's not just disconnected from voters, it's also disconnect from what Republicans need him to be,” Lemire elaborated. “They need him to be talking about the economy. They need him to at least pretend to care what people are thinking and feeling about. And instead, he's consumed with foreign adventures. And he's consumed with his legacy and remaking Washington in his own image. He cares about what, what, how he'll be remembered forever, and he's losing sight of what got him back to the office in the first place.”Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough drove the same point home, telling viewers Trump appears to be cut off even from those closest to him. "Nobody could talk to the president about what could be the biggest crisis in his presidency," Scarborough said, referencing the Haberman and Swan reporting. "He's completely isolated even inside the White House according to this report." - YouTube youtu.be
